Electric raslrggd



;E. 2.. KEEMEBY. ELECTRIC RAELRUAD.

(Appliation, filed Jan. 12, 1898.)

2 Sheets-Sheat I.

(M model) No. 6|3,4l8. I Patented Nov. I, I898.

' C. L. KEMEHY.

ELECTRIC RAILROAD.

(Application filed Jan. 12, 1398.) (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet2.

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rail-e seem; a

uijwrren @TATES CHARLES L.

PATENT @FFICIE.

KEIvlERY, OF PKTTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA.

etsc rsic emrsosc.

5PEGIFICA1ION forming part of Letters Patent No. 613,413, dated November I, 1898.

Application fi1erlJanuary12,lB93. seen Ho.66fi,426. (Ho model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern..-

Be it known that I, CHARLES L. KEMERY, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Piitsburg, in the county of Allegheny and State ofPennsylvenia, have invented certain. new and useful Improvements in Electric-Railroad Construction, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying draws lugs.

This invention relates to certain new and useful improvementsin electric railways, and has for its object toMproduce-an economical and effective system for utilizing electricity as the motive power in railways.

The invention might .be termed a thirdflm "a' traelr with an intermediate rail acting e'conduit for the currcnowires, and being so insulated as to prevent the same from being charged throughout its length.

Arranged in the top or face of this conduit or intermediate rail and extending throughout the length thereof are plates or bars of suitable conducting material, each of said plates or bars being insulated fromthe adjacent oneswhile arranged within the conduit,

-"undcrncath these piates or bars, are strips of soi't iron or other suitable conducting material that are connected by strips of copper or other suitable 'Inaterial to the current-wires. The truck of the car has arranged thereon and supported in any suitable manner an eieet romagnet the-t is connected to the motors in mnltipicrnltc'the electroinsgnet passes over one of? the conducting-plates of the intermediate rail, the conduct-ing'strips arranged within the conduit are, through the magnetic forge of this magnet, drawn into contact with the conducting plate or bar offlthe interred. diets rail and the electrical "eirc'uit there hy completed. This electrical circuit, however, only extends the length of the conductingjpiese' what: that is being acted upon-by fille'electpornegnet. The various details of construction will be hereinafter more particularly pointed out in the specification and in the accompanying drawings, like letters of reference indicating similsr parts throughout the several which-- I Figure 1 is a perspective view of a truck nA-ReemM-MuusMncviews, in

and a portion of the track constructed in ac- I cordence with my invention. Fig. 2 is a side elevation, partly in section, showing connection made by the elcctromagnet. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a. portion of the intermediete rail end conduit. Fig. 4 is a cross-secticg'al view of the same. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of one of the hangers for the conducting-strips arranged within the conduit. Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a portion of these strips. Fig. 7 is a. vertical sectional view of the electromagnet. Fig. 8 is a sectional View taken on the line X X of Figl 3.

To put my invention into practice, I arrange between the two rails 02 a of the track an intermediate rail or conduit 1), within preferably flanged outwardly and upwardly at their top to form a suflieient space for the reception of the conducting plates or bars and a. suitable insulation of the same. This flanging of the walls forms an angle f, within which is placed an angular-shaped strip of any suitable insulating material 0', that extends throughout the length of the conduit and projects inwardly in the conduit 3. sufiicient distance to prevent any danger of the conducting plates or bars coming in contact with the wells of the conduit. Resting upon these angle-shaped strips of insulation are the conducting plates or bars (1, which are arranged throughout the length of the conduit and each her insulated from the adjacent ones, as shown at d, by any suitable insulating materiel, thereby absolutely preventing the charge of more than one bar or plate at the same time. Arranged within the conduit underneath these conducting bars or plates and supported by hangers e, which are socured to the insulating materials, are strips e, composed of soft iron or other suitable conducting materiel that is susceptible to the magnetic force of the magnet These pieces whickiesuhblf amngedflmwmtrwns c. The two wal s inclosing the conduit 616 70 power required, by strips e composed of copper or other suitable material, to which'the current wirce is connected, the latter connecting the strips e to the main current wires or cables 0.

The truck-frame has secured thereto and suitably insulated therefrom cross-shafts f, upon which are mounted the contact-rollers g, said cross-shafts f having also mounted.

thereon suitable frames h, by means of which the electromagnet 7c is supported at a point directly above the cond ucti 11g plates or bars (Z. This magnet is electrically connected with th contact-rollers g and the ground, so as to be in multiple with the motors k", and is of such -high resistance as to use but a small portion of the current, that the feeding of the motors will not be materially afiected. .Thus it will be seen that the magnet 70 is in circuit at all times, whether the motors are in or not, and consequently the strip 6, directly beneath the magnet, is always in contact with a. conducting-plate d, on which one or the other of the contact-rollers g is hearing at that time. 1

It is necessary that at the beginning of the line the first conducting-plate d be permaneutly connected with the strip 6 or thatsome-mechanical means be employed for raising the strip into contact with said conducting-platc, in order that the magnet may receive its initial current. However, as various Well-known devices maybe employedfor this purpose and such do not form part of my invention it is not thought necessary to includesame in this application.

The hangers e are preferably provided with an insulation e arranged on the vertical arms of the same, which prevents danger of the current being conducted from the hang ers to the walls of the conduit.

It will of course beunderstojod that suitable connections are made through the operating mechanism to the current controlliug device, which is arranged at a suitable point on the car or locomotive for the motorman or engineer and which it has not been thought necessary to illustrate in this application.

Assuming now that a current is turned on by the motorman or engineer, the force of the electromagnet will cause the strip 6, underneath the plate or bar at, over which the magnet may be, to be drawn into contact with the said strip or bar, in which position it remains until the car has passed beyond thesaid conducting plains orbar dyand' .thecontact-isbroken by the insulation d, while simultaneously therewith the electromagnetic force will be in action upon the succeeding stripe, which is drawn'into contact with the succeeding conducting plate Oj bfll d, and the circuit thereby continued until it is broken Through the copper plates or other material non-sensitive to the action of the electromagnet; only that strip e that is directly underneath the electromagnet is drawn into contact with the conducting plate or bar 01, and the charging of all the plates or bars is by this means prevented.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. An electric-railway system comprising a conduit haying current-wires arranged in the bottom thereof, a series of conducting plates or bars arranged in said conduit and insulated from each other by a strip d and from the conduitby suitable insulating ma terial, hangers secured to said insulating material, a series oi conducting-strips connected together by non-1nagnetic conductors and suspended in the said hangers, connections between the said strip and the current-wires, contact-rollers, a magnet suspended from a rams-and supported by the shaft directly above the conducting-plates, whereby the conducting-strips are d rawn into contact with the conducting-plates, substantially as herein shown and described.

2. An electric-railway system comprising a conduit having feed-wires arranged in the bottom thereof, angular strips of insulating material in flange-spaces along the upper edges of the conduit, conducting-plates resting on the insulatirigntrips and insulated from each other, U-shaped brackets suspended from the insulating-strips and extending beneath the contact-plates, insulators located in the Vertical arms of said brackets, conducting-strips susceptible to magnetism sup ported in the brackets, non-magnetic plates :of conducting material connecting the conducting-strips, conductors connecting. the

feed-Wires with the conducting-strips, a car, contact-rollers journaled therein to bear on the conducting-plates, and an electric magnet mounted on the car directly above the conduit and suitably connected with the contact-rollers to be energized by the current therefrom for the purpose of attracting the conducting-strips into contact with the condluari In testimouywhereot I aflix uiy signature in the presence of two witne CHARLES 'LQ KEMERY. Witnesses:

Jonn' NoLAnD, WILLI M E. MINOR. 

